Men's Basketball Facing Northern Illinois on Saturday Afternoon in DeKalb

Saturday, February 28

DeKalb, Ill.

4 PM ET / 3 PM CT

Ball State University

Northern Illinois

Photo by: Heather Parker

Men's Basketball Facing Northern Illinois on Saturday Afternoon in DeKalb

February 27, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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Final Game between the Programs as MAC Members before the Huskies Head to the Horizon League

The Ball State men's basketball team is back on the road to face Northern Illinois at 4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT) on Saturday afternoon in DeKalb.

The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+, while Mick Tidrow and David Eha handle the radio call on WMUN 92.5 FM / 1340 AM and on the WMUN app. Links to both broadcasts and live stats can be found above and on the schedule page.

Ball State (9-19, 4-11 Mid-American Conference) came back from 18 points down with 12 minutes to go in regulation to beat UMass 74-73 in overtime on Tuesday night behind a season high 26 points from Davion Hill and a game-winning floater by Armoni Zeigler.

Northern Illinois (9-18, 4-11 MAC) has dropped its last two games including a 79-69 loss at Toledo on Tuesday.

This will be the second game of the season between the Cardinals and Huskies following a 58-53 Ball State win on Jan. 24 in Muncie.

Rashon Burno is in his fifth season as the head coach at NIU, who was picked to finish 13^th in the conference preseason poll in its final season in the MAC.

Northern Illinois focuses on the offensive glass and 3-point line, ranking second in the league in offensive rebounds per game (12.3) and fourth in 3-point percentage defense (32.8). The Huskies attempt the fourth-most 3-pointers per game (25.8) in the MAC and make the fifth-most (8.3).

Sophomore guard Makhai Valentine paces NIU with 13.8 points per game and ranks near the top of the conference in 3-pointers made (67, No. 4) and free throw shooting (81.4, No. 6). Fellow sophomore guard Gianni Cobb averages the fifth-most steals (1.63) and 10^th-most assists (4.0) per game in the MAC.

The final week of the regular season is next up for the Cardinals starting with a road game at Western Michigan on Tuesday night.

A WEEK OF BEGINNING AND ENDING: Ball State will play Northern Illinois on Saturday for the final time as Mid-American Conference foes a game after hosting UMass for the first time in series history with the Minutemen.

UMass joined the MAC in advance of the 2025-26 season, and the Huskies are leaving the conference to join the Horizon League in time for the 2026-27 campaign.

HILL TO THE HOOP: Guard Davion Hill went for a season high 26 points in Tuesday night's 74-73 overtime win against UMass a game after notching his first double-double at the NCAA Division I level with 18 points and 11 rebounds on Feb. 20 against Akron.

The 26-point performance included an 11-for-11 showing at the free throw line, which was the first 100 percent effort at the foul line for a Cardinal this season shooting more than six free throws. Hill has now scored in double figures in seven straight games and 12 of the last 13 and leads the team in average points overall (13.4 per game) and in MAC play (15.5).

FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME FOR OVERTIME: The Ball State men's basketball program went 33 games between overtime contests before Tuesday's 74-73 win over UMass featuring an extra session.

The Cardinals' last overtime game before that was an 89-83 win against Northern Illinois on Feb. 15, 2025.

FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Four Cardinals scored 10 points each in the win over the Minutemen on Tuesday to join Davion Hill in double figures scoring.

Armoni Zeigler (seven rebounds, five assists) hit the game-winning floater in overtime, while Kayden Fish (five rebounds), Elmore James IV (four rebounds) and Juwan Maxey also hit important shots among their 10 points each on the night.

DIALED IN FROM LONG RANGE: The Cardinals drained 13 3-pointers on Feb. 20 against Akron, which was the second-most Ball State has made this season behind 14 in a win over Le Moyne back on Nov. 30.

Eight of those triples were hit in the first half, and the 46.4 percent (13-28) mark from distance was the third-best in a game this season for the Cardinals.

COPELAND CAN REBOUND: Freshman forward Preston Copeland tallied three points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's win over UMass after posting nine points and five rebounds against Akron and contributing seven points and 10 rebounds on Feb. 16 at Ohio in the two games prior.

The game against the Bobcats was the second for Copeland this season with double figures in rebounds following a 16-board performance in a win vs Le Moyne on Nov. 30.

MAXEY MAKING SHOTS: Juwan Maxey made two 3-pointers and scored 10 points against the Minutemen, draining multiple triples for the fifth time in six games.

The guard has hit multiple 3-pointers in nine games this season including a three-game stretch with 3+ triples in each game at the Lafayette Classic in late November. The senior has now made at least one 3-pointer in seven straight games.

MILESTONES MET: Senior guards Devon Barnes and Juwan Maxey hit career scoring milestones in their respective NCAA Division I careers on Feb. 14 against Kent State.

Barnes joined the 1,000-point club on a free throw late in the first half, and Maxey made a layup early in the second half to hit the 500-point mark.

BENCH GETTING BUCKETS: Led by Kayden Fish's 17 points at Louisiana Monroe, the Ball State bench scored more than half the team's points with 38 in the win against the Warhawks.

Davion Hill added 14, and Juwan Maxey chipped in seven for the team averaging the fourth-most bench points per game in the MAC (25.7).

SUCCESS OVER THE SUN BELT: Ball State's win at Louisiana Monroe on Feb. 7 clinched the Cardinals' first sweep of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, which is in its third season.

A 75-64 win over Louisiana in the season opener was the first leg in the two-game event. Ball State is now 3-0 at home and 1-2 on the road in the Challenge and was one of only three MAC teams to win on Saturday against Sun Belt opponents.

The Cardinals became the first team in the series history with the Warhawks to win on the road, as both teams entered the contest 2-0 at home for a 2-2 split.

LOT OF LEADING SCORERS: Only five teams in NCAA Division I (George Washington, Tarleton State, Illinois State, VCU and USC) feature more different leading scorers in games this season than Ball State's eight.

Davion Hill (nine), Armoni Zeigler (eight), Devon Barnes (four), Kayden Fish (two), Joey Hart (two), Elmore James IV (two), Juwan Maxey (two), and Preston Copeland (one) have all led the Cardinals in scoring in at least one game this season.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE: Ball State's 58-53 win against Northern Illinois on Jan. 24 was the first time the Cardinals have won a game scoring fewer than 60 points since Dec. 21, 2022 against Georgia Southern (58-54).

The last time the program had won a conference game without reaching the 60-point mark was Feb. 16, 2019 vs Akron (57-56).

TURNOVER TALK: Ball State committed only eight turnovers in the Jan. 24 triumph vs Northern Illinois a game after limiting giveaways to a season-low five in the win at Central Michigan.

Seven giveaways was the previous season-low on four separate occasions before the game with the Chippewas, and Ball State is the top conference team in taking care of the ball (9.9 turnovers per game) and second in turnover margin (+2.1) against MAC foes.

Ball State kept control of the ball at Bowling Green on Feb. 3, giving up only 10 turnovers to a team that averaged more than 16 turnovers forced per game entering the contest for the sixth-most in NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have had 14 games so far this season with 10 or fewer giveaways.

CARDINALS CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE: Ball State leads the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (70.4 points per game) and ranks second in fewest fouls committed per game (15.6) and fourth in steals per game (7.6) through the season's first 28 contests.